HIV Status Not Grounds for Denying People Professional Licenses, Federal Officials Say

The Department of Justice on Thursday said that it is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act to bar people -- such as barbers, masseuses, and home health care aides --  from receiving professional licenses or training at occupational schools because they have HIV or AIDS, the AP/Los Angeles Times reports. Some states, for example, require that cosmetologists be free of communicable diseases. "The government says that type of regulation is outdated and was not intended to bar people with HIV. The original goal of such a rule was to prevent the spread of tuberculosis and other diseases, not prevent people with [HIV] from working in certain fields," according to the AP/Times. Furthermore, "The Supreme Court has found people with AIDS or HIV are covered under the law barring discrimination against people with disabilities," the article states (7/16).

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